myemergencypreparedness-blog

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FLOODS IN MALAYSIA

Topic: Flood disaster and management in Malaysia

Objectives: To be able know and assess flood disaster in Malaysia as well as its management

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During the past decade, Malaysia did not miss to face numerous disasters which include flooding, landslides, transportation accidents, industrial accidents and collapse of buildings which causes physical and emotional stress among the people affected. There are 189 rivers basins in Malaysia and it estimated that 9% of the total area is vulnerable to flood disaster which affects 4.82 million people around 22% of the total population of Malaysia.

According to Xiong, Hao, Liong, Loon, Chenn, Kai, Husain & Yacoob (2016), flood causes great impact to the health of the Malaysian in a few ways such as it results in water-borne diseases, physical problems, and psychological problems. Among psychological problem, they said that posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) is one of most serious problems after a flood.

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Studies have showed that natural disaster serves as an acute stressor that can lead to depression if left untreated (Ginexi, Weihs, Simmens & Hoyt, 2000; Tyler & Hoyt, 2000.  Supporting this with a study by Dohrenwend in 2000 which says that disaster victims are more likely to develop psychological disorders compared to those not exposed to natural disasters.). Thus, creating an upward need for emergency management immediately to these patients.  Which is why in disaster nursing, debriefing is an important management for those clients who suffered traumatic events such as floods, earthquakes, landslide etc.

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In Malaysia, Billa, et al., (2006) proposed a spatial decision support system (SDSS) technology in flood disaster management that incorporate capabilities in the areas of dialog between system component, data acquisition, storage and retrieval and data modelling and manipulation. Also, in response to the recent vunerability of Malaysia to natural calamities despite the fact they are outside Pacific Ring of Fire, the Malaysian government launched a campaign called “One Nation, One Number” for all types of emergencies. Also, There is an exclusive system Government Integrated Radio Network (GIRN) as an alternative for communication during disaster.

Currently, there are two flood management systems that are being implemented in Malaysia. One is the Integrated Flood Management and the other is Role of Emergency Management in Flood Policy. The main objective of the Integrated Flood Management is to reduce flood risk. This involves fixing roads and other infrastructures as well as disciplining the people to reduce, if not eliminate, the risk of flooding. On the other hand, the latter focuses on having 3 stages to manage flooding. This includes preparedness, response and recovery stage. It involves having pre-flood measures to ensure an effective response, reduces adverse impacts during the actual occurrence of flooding and provides means to assist the affected community to rebuild itself respectively.

Operational flood forecasting systems form a key part of “preparedness” strategies for disastrous flood events by providing early warnings several days ahead, giving flood forecasting services, civil protection, authorities and the public adequate preparation time, thus reducing the impact of the flooding.

 There are 3 phases of the flood delivery system in Malaysia. The first phase is the Flood Forecasting and Warning System (Pre-Disaster) which constitutes an effective and economical means to reduce losses of lives, trauma of disaster and property damage. The second phase is the flood Relief Machinery (During Disaster) where the respective state DID office must carry out the flood forecast operation using the real time telemetric data and river forecasting computer models during the flood season. While the third phases is the Funding and Aid Delivery System (Post-Disaster) wherein effectiveness of policy implementation and the assistance provided in a timely manner can provide an immediate impact on the victims. 

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The Malaysian Insider (2014) described the 2014 flood in Malaysia as the worst floods in decades. In regard to this, there is a necessity for an effective analysis on the impacts due to flood in order to understand the problem and mitigate its disastrous effects in various situations.Also, floods are considered an annual natural disaster in Kelantan. However, the record-setting flood of 2014 was a ‘tsunami-like disaster’. Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia was the only fully functioning hospital in the state and had to receive and manage cases from the hospitals and clinics throughout Kelantan.

According to a study entitled “Floods in Malaysia Historical Reviews, Causes, Effects and Mitigations Approach by D/iya, BarzaniGasim, EkhwanToriman, and Abdullahi (2014), large percentage of people believes improper drainage system is the main cause of flood and also some part agree that the main effects of flood is the damage to houses and appliances, lastly some stated that the main way to avoid flood damages is to evacuate people from the flood prone zones.

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References:

1. Leman, A. M., Rahman, K. A., Salleh, M. N. M., Baba, I., Feriyanto, D., Johnson, L. S. C., & Hidayah, M. (2016). A Review Of Flood Catastrophic Management In Malaysia, 11(14), 8738–8742.

2. B, K. A., Farid, S., & W, A. (2015). The Record-Setting Flood of 2014 in Kelantan : Challenges and Recommendations from an Emergency Medicine Perspective and Why the Medical Campus Stood Dry, 22(2), 1–7.

3. D/iya, S., BarzaniGasim, M.,  EkhwanToriman, M., & Abdullahi, M. (2014).  Floods in Malaysia Historical Reviews, Causes, Effects and Mitigations Approach. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovations ISSN 2348-1226 (online) Vol. 2, Issue 4, pp: (59-65).

4. Khalid, M., and Shafiai, S. (2015). Flood Disaster Management in Malaysia: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness Flood Delivery System. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity, Vol 5, No. 4, 398-402

5. Ginexi, Weihs, Simmens & Hoyt, 2000; Tyler & Hoyt, 2000.  

6. Xiong, Hao, Liong, Loon, Chenn, Kai, Husain & Yacoob (2016)

7. Billa, et al., (2006)

8. Cloke, H.L., & Pappernberger, F., 2009)

9. http://jsrad.org/wp-content/2015/Issue%2014,%202015/9jj.pdf

10. Challenges of Communication System During Emergency Disaster Response in Malaysia: A Review

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Introduction to the Emergency Preparedness of Malaysia

Viewers will be able to identify common hazards in Malaysia, its management in times of disasters and their efforts in promoting awareness in the community and preparation of nurses during disasters.

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Ahayalimudin, Ismail & Saiboon (2012) defined disasters as unpredictable events that kill and affect people, demolish properties and disrupt environment. According to studies, the most common hazards in Malaysia are floods, landslide, and deforestation. Malaysia also has several places that a nuclear and radiological disasters can occur.

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In lieu of disasters, they created medical response hotline wherein they could easily ask for help or ambulance by dialing the universal call system or “999. “Flying Doctor” project has been also implemented in which doctors are oblige to go in far flung areas of Malaysia and offer basic health services and medical emergency evacuation (MEDEVAC) of seriously ill or injured patients from these remote localities to the nearest appropriate hospitals.

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Also, Malaysia has different disaster management levels which has three categories—Level I, Level II, & Level III based on the severity and a disaster management cycle which has two parts: risk management (protection) and crisis management (recovery).

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Health emergency and disaster preparedness is very important in regions which are prone to hazards. This includes getting ready (readiness), anticipating consequences or impacts from hazards or emergencies (foresight), planning for a variety of scenarios (anticipatory planning), and taking the necessary measures to avoid or reduce risk (precautionary action).

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A common perception is that preparedness is only for response, however, preparing for recovery after a disaster or emergency is no less important. As nurses and community members we can increase our disaster preparedness by attending seminars, lectures, or symposiums that tackles disaster preparedness for example Asia Pacific Emergency Disaster Nursing Network (APEDNN) which was formed in 2007 in recognition of the necessity of a coordinated, sustained and maximum response to the growing numbers of emergencies and disasters in the Asia Pacific region. For nurses, some studies have shown that nurses had inadequate knowledge but portrayed positive attitude toward disaster management. Those activities conducted by APEDNN may increase their knowledge, practice and provides a positive attitude for them in many cases of unforeseen events. We can also deduct that experience can also be a source of knowledge for it will give us a first-hand understanding on how to react, respond and act on such disasters.

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Additional Facts: Trauma is one of the common reasons for death and hospitalization in Malaysia and studies found out that only 75% patients were satisfied with their visits in the emergency department.

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References:

1. Singh, B. (2016). Health Sciences Survey on Patient’s Satisfaction on the Service Quality in an Emergency Department in Malaysia, 2(2), 10-15. 2. Rahman, N. H., Baharuddin, K. A., & Mohamad, S. M. (2015). Burden of motorcycle-related injury in Malaysia. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 8(1). doi:10.1186/s12245-015-0065-4 3. Salleh, S.,& Yusof, N. (2013). A Preliminary Study on Prepared Culture Amongst Healthcare Practitioners for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency in Malaysia. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.453 4. Reducing disaster exposure. (2013). The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2012 Asia-Pacific Disaster Report, 71-102. doi:10.18356/8dd89b64-en 5. Health Emergency and Disaster Preparedness in Malaysia by Harpal Singh and Shamala Subramaniam 6. Ahayalimudin et al.: Disaster management: a study on knowledge, attitude and practice of emergency nurse and community health nurse. BMC Public Health 2012 12(Suppl 2):A3. 7. Disaster Management in Malaysia: Landscape Review, Challenges and Prospects